Zero-configuration networking automatically creates a usable computer network between networked devices (e.g., computers, printers, peripherals, etc.) based on the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Zero-configuration networking includes service discovery, address assignment and hostname resolution. The networked devices can be automatically connected using multicast Domain Name Systems.
However, there are several configurations where zero-configuration networking cannot operate. For example, discovery of networked devices is bound to a simple VLAN, Multicast DNS frames cannot cross single subnet, can only operate over a single gateway solution, limited in scale and performance in large scale networked environments and further there is no heterogeneous solution for communication between different protocols (e.g., wireless, wired, etc).